Social Networking for Small Businesses 101
15
Aug
Facebook:
- Financial Investment Firms need an organizational or “Business Page”. This is the official Facebook site for the business and should be ‘friended’ by all employees of the firm with their profile.
- The goal here should be to acquire as many “Fans” as possible.
- This is the site where official updates of the business are posted, updating your “fans”… to include:
- Upcoming events; open houses; social hour; conference…
- Blog postings, related articles, podcasts and videos…
- Pics of the most recent media training, company outing, or birthday celebration…
- Links are important. Links to sources of information, links to bloggers, links that are of value to current and prospective clients.
- Financial Investment Firms will then need to move onto the creation of a “Group Page”. This is specifically targeted to the audience we want.
- This is the water cooler where topics related, but not necessarily directly related to the business can be discussed.
- This is a great site to eavesdrop on your fans discussing different topics and get an idea of what your potential and/or current customers are thinking and discussing. Pay particular attention to gripes, moans, and complaints… These types of comments should be looked upon as a gift from your customer. It provides insight into a potential future loss, which you are now able to thwart and keep as a customer by addressing those needs before culminating to a point of frustration.
- It’s important to facilitate in a group environment and not attempt to drive the conversation. Allow it to travel its own course. This is the only way you’ll be able to acquire accurate data.
LinkedIn:
- This is a professional site for business professionals to network and “link-in” with each other for opportunities, answers to questions, jobs, and for staying abreast of the business “buzz” of the day.
- Instead of fans, you have links, which in turn provide you even more secondary, then tertiary links to potential clients or business partners.
- The most interesting part of this fascinating Web site is where you can see who’s been looking at your profile. For the most part, it indicates the line of work this person is in, and in some rare occurrences, it indicates the searcher by name.
- On occasion, it’s exciting to see who’s been looking at your profile.
- Credibility is the name of the game when it comes to the social media landscape and a great way to garner this is through LinkedIn’s Answers/Questions.
- You can ask a question, then post it for the next week or two to see what kind of responses you get.
- Or, you can answer already posted questions. If your answer is deemed one of the better responses, the person asking the question may stamp you with “the best answer” label, thus marking you as an expert in this particular field.
Twitter:
- This is the most egregiously misused tool in the social media toolbox. What began as a 140-character update (a tweet) on the most important and pertinent issues of the day, has turned into a social update tool to inform the masses that you are in line at the hot dog stand and it is taking too long.
- “Tweets” should be focused on your area of expertise or a specific target-topic for your audience.
- Every tweet should set you apart as an expert and thus a resource for your audience.
- Remember not to sell. This only turns off your potential clients. As long as you provide information deemed pertinent to their needs, they will eventually come around.
- Step 1. Set up a profile and pay particular attention to “Bio”. This will often determine whether someone wants to follow you or not. A quick, but interesting sound bite, but once again, don’t sell yourself here or anywhere else on Twitter.
- Step 2. Set up a company profile and have every (this is important that EVERY single employee “follow” the company site, otherwise, potential clients will be wondering why…) employee follow it.
- Step 3. Begin wandering the hinterlands of Twitterville. I.e., look up some prominent companies in similar lines of business and see who’s following them. Then, follow them!
- Step 4. Monitor what’s being said by those you’re following. What are the topics? The buzz? The latest news? What stories are they linking and retweeting? All this will direct you in the right direction, not to mention as soon as you begin tweeting your own expert opinion in the matter, tweeters will begin following you.
Networking, whether in the real world or in the social media realm takes time and effort. The bad news is, it’s tough to get started. Just as if you were visiting a foreign country for the first time, you will not understand the language, the culture, nor be in the right time zone. The same can be said of the social media realm. The language is often confusing, the mannerisms are difficult to understand, and your head is spinning with the traffic going back and forth.
Take your time and take small steps at first. Start with Facebook, then move onto LinkedIn, and finally to Twitter.
Walking Away From Your Mortgage; Strategic Defaults; Is It Moral?
14
Aug
People in many states are walking away from their mortgages. These people are not suffering a job loss; they are not burdened with exorbitant medical bills; nor are these people incapable of paying their bills. These people are recognizing that the value of their homes are worth less than what they owe on the house… in other words, they were “under water”.
Watch CBS News Videos Online
An Arizona legal study written by says banks exploit consumers’ sense of guilt and shame to prevent them from walking away from their loans. “It’s a unique time… and people feel too shameful… and people might be better off making economic, rational decisions…” says the study.
If Wall Street is able to make economic decisions in their best interest regardless of the ramifications upon Main Street, why shouldn’t Mr. and Mrs. Joe Smith do the same?
Richard Fuld, CEO of Lehman, recently ranked as the worst CEO ever, still pocketed over half a billion. Stan O’Neil, CEO of Merrill Lynch walked away with $165 million after his company posted a $8 billion loss. And this is simply the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Morgan Stanley walked away from five San Francisco office buildings, and other companies are writing off losses while we the tax payers are left holding the hot potato.
A home purchase is a business transaction. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the CEO and CFO of the Smith family, yet they operate under completely different rules. Should they be allowed to make economic decisions oblivious to societal pressures and poor credit?
So who pays the bill for those who walk away?
You, me, and our neighbors, at least those who stay with their mortgage.
And newly formed companies like “You Walk Away” are popping up to help homeowners make economic decisions and walk away from their loans.
Is this right? Does “right” have anything to do with it?
Share your thoughts here.
Don’t want the Normandy invasion of pitches?
30
Jul
Don’t want a barrage of unwanted emails containing pitches for the latest technology when your title clearly indicates you are an investment and banking reporter?
Here are a few tips for reporters:
As a reporter, you may not want to get the Normandy Invasion of pitches from folks like me in the PR field. So how do you filter out the credible and pertinent pitches from those that have absolutely nothing to do with you?
LINKEDin!
After reading hundreds of thousands of articles on LinkedIn and networking… ok, so it was really only a few articles but who’s counting? Anyhoo, after reading these articles, I’ve done it! The hard work. I’ve whittled the list down to five steps. And, here they are:
1) Set up a LinkedIn account and flesh it out. If you’re not on here, you nearly don’t exist. LinkedIn profiles are not only searchable online, but Google algorithms place LinkedIn profiles almost always at the top of their list when searching for names. (Here’s a link to a great YouTube piece on how it works: http://bit.ly/YouTubeLinkedIN)
a) If you have a blogsite or a website with your professional work, you can connect it to your LinkedIn page so viewers can see and link to it.
b) Keep it up to date. One of LinkedIn’s shortcomings is that there is no “as of” date. Yes, I’ve made the recommendations, but nothing yet. Continuously updating your page and refining it keeps it fresh and ensures your profile is listed in LinkedIn’s weekly Network Updates.
2) Begin building your network, however, and this is a “big” however, ensure your Account Settings are set to your desires. A few privacy considerations are listed below, but before we get there, you’ll need to begin building your network. Start with those you trust, respect, and need as potential resources. Afterwards, you can begin branching out from there.
a) Connections Browse – Do you want to allow anyone to see your connections? While those not connected to you cannot see your connections except the number, your connections may be able to rifle through your connections. Some enjoy a level of anonymity. If so, set it to “not allowed”.
b) Email Notifications – Do you want to allow complete strangers to contact you via LinkedIn? Or, you can set it up so only those who know your email will be able to contact you. We’re talking about non-connected folks right now. It’s just as easy to “ignore” a request when they come in, but perhaps you don’t even have time for that. In that case, set it to “I’ll only accept Introductions” AND unclick the 8 boxes next to it. All this is under “CONTACT SETTINGS”.
3) Browse and “ASK” questions. If you hover your rodent, I mean mouse over “MORE” near the top, then click “ANSWERS”, you’ll be taken to a Q & A section filled with the latest questions and answers on everything from “Which shampoo do red-heads recommend?” to “Are Municipal Bonds worth investing in?” (ok, so that last one was my own) This is a great resource. And if your answer is deemed worthy, the questioner may stamp it with a seal of “BEST ANSWER”.
4) Rifle through your connections’ CONNECTIONS. Yes, it’s a little creepy going through someone else’s connections, but hey, if they’re not secured, why not? HOWEVER, I always make an effort to contact my direct contact first if I plan on connecting with their connection. Are we connecting?
Plus, it makes a great segue to your intro by saying something like “Hi, we are both mutual acquaintances of Bill…”, or something to that effect. The point is, respect each person’s LinkedIn profile. Just because we’re hiding behind a computer doesn’t mean we cannot be civil.
5) Lastly, if your employer is willing to shell out the extra bucks per month, buy the upgrade. The upgrade allows you to better search results, to save and organize profiles, and to send InMails. InMails are emails sent within the LinkedIn realm, adding credibility.
Would love to hear your best practices and thoughts about my tips. You can always email me or InMail me on LinkedIn.
Best wishes.
-Danny
“Jarheadpao”
Executive Compensation and the Golden Parachute
10
May
So if you lose your job today, you may receive unemployment or perhaps a modest severance package.
Take a look at what executives on Wall Street are reaping.
Taking Turns to Save Over $2 Million
10
May
A communications expert with a passion for building strategic communication plans through the use of identifying focused key messages for specifically-targeted audiences through the leveraging of both social and traditional media.
His passion is building awareness and inspiring communities and businesses to do the right thing by fostering community goodwill, fueling employee engagement, and driving efficiencies.
